A good friend of mine has a tourist visa 60 day which he picked up in Vientianne on July 7th -he says he usually goes to immigration in Nong Khai for a 30 day extension after the 60 days and then does a border 'run' after 90 days and repeats the process before starting the Vientianne trip all over again-giving him 6 months altogether.

he wants to stay in Thailand and has just turned 50 and has the funds for a retirement visa-I have advised him to start this straight away but am not sure about length of time money held in bank etc.

Could anyone advise him on the best way forward?

For first application for retirement extension the funds (800k+) have to be in Thai bank account for two months at the date of application.

Edited July 19, 201411 yr by KhunBENQ

If he lives in Nong Kai the first thing he should do is get a single entry non-o from the embassy in Vientiane.

Then he could a apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement (it is not a visa) during the last 30 days of the 90 days he would get from the visa. He will need 800k baht in a Thai bank in his name only for 60 days or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 to reach 800k baht on the date he applies.